> A web search for Wingear products produces a long list of many, many
> discount sellers. It looks very much like Wingear is out of buisness and
> these sellers have picked up 'remaindered' CDs. Companies all over the
> U.S., Europe, etc. can be found selling Wingear CDs.

This is indeed possible.

> It's not just the graphics CD - I found one list of Wingear products
> comprising approx. 40 different titles.

Yeah, they are fairly prolific. Comments I have seen using google news
search indicate that they seem to have the habit of throwing together
freely-available resources and selling them as a 'suite' of some sort.

> Wingear  does appear to have a P.O. Box in Boca Raton, Fla. US
> and a phone number. Have no idea if these are good.

Where'd you get this info from ? I never came across a PO box so you're
one up on me.

> HOWEVER - since the current wingear.com is now a porno site, it is
> very likely someone picked up the domain name (or bought it) from
> Wingear Publishing.

That's assuming that wingear ever owned the domain (or that they had a web
site). Who knows, maybe they even wanted the cash from the porno ads ;)

> Oh - sysgo IS wingear
>
> same PO Box, address and phone number

ah, very interesting ...

> I believe Wingear is very probably out of business and the
> current owners of wingear.com are unrelated parties.

Or that WinGear never existed, as such, and was just a front for sysgo. Note
that the cover of the CD-ROM states 'copyright 2000/2001 WinGear Publishing'.
This is not an old CD !

FWIW, I noticed that on the CD, it claims that '3d render studio 2000 and
the Wingear logo are registered trade marks of WinGear Publishing'.

To claim something is a registered trade mark when it is not is, I believe,
an offense under US law, so I checked the USPTO site for a registration for
the product name (no go) or anything else registered to a firm called 'WinGear'
(no go). However, I am not 100% familiar with their search tool so don't take
that as a statement that there is no such registration; just that I couldn't
find one (or that all of their marks expired - hardly likely given the date
of the CD).

Note that getting a RTM is expensive (I think at least US$2000), and it doesn't
make a lot of sense for a CD that they sell for maybe US$4.50 ...

-- Chris

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